Columns

LIVE long enough, and someday you will have cataract surgery. I’ve been told that since my sight was that of an eagle. The good news today: the eagle has lived long enough to have cataracts removed from both eyes in the last week.

Wednesday evening, the City of Vallejo hosted a Coordinated Entry Workshop focusing on improving services, assistance, and housing for Vallejo’s homeless population. Homelessness remains a critical issue in Solano County cities though not as severe as in Vallejo.

Memorial Day (observed) is Monday May 28 and will be observed in a ceremony hosted by the Vacaville Veterans. The ceremony will take place starting at 11 a.m. at the Vacaville-Elmira Cemetery. This year the key note speaker is a veteran who works hard every day to ‘care for those that bore the battle, their wives and orphans.

If you’re in a fight with someone and they have a knife or blade of some sort, you’re more than likely going to end up getting cut. Getting cut sucks. We know a few guys who have had the misfortune of getting cut and getting shot.

This past April 22, Earth Day was celebrated worldwide and people gathered on streets, parks and fairs to acknowledge it. School children wrote essays and some politicians made a public showing to commemorate this special day by planting a tree in a park.

A couple of years ago, during a conversation with my husband on Mother’s Day, I asked what he remembers most about his mother. He replied, “I remember her mostly being drunk.” She never hesitated to leave him with relatives and returning home years later.

Well-intended, but fatally flawed, a poorly written legislative proposal has surfaced in our state Capitol, representing a profound threat to the quality of health care in California. Assembly Bill 3087, authored by Democratic Assemblymember Ash Kalra of San Jose, would artificially cap what health care providers, such as hospitals and doctors, can charge for service without any consideration of what it actually costs to provide those services.

WITH months to go before we sleep, drums are beating for runs for Vacaville City Council. Nolan Sullivan, a 30-year Vacan, made his bid official Sunday with a reception at BackDoor Bistro. On that alone he gets my vote for serving up the trendiest noshes so far: Chef Lindsay’s duck confit on tortilla points and savory meatballs.

During the month of May, the nation observes Older Americans Month. The 2018 theme, Engage at Every Age, emphasizes the importance of seniors remaining active by participating in activities that will enrich their physical, mental and emotional health.

May, more than any other month, is filled with traditions and symbolic remembrances of service and sacrifices to the men and women who serve our nation in the military, and to our nation’s fallen heroes and their families.

LAST week, city planners voted to approve a new 40-foot radio tower atop Drake’s Point, which natives will forever know as Old Rocky. Visit Vacaville calls it “Vacaville Boulders.” That’s not even close.

The definition of rape by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is unlawful sexual activity and usually sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against a person’s will or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent because of mental illness, mental deficiency, intoxication, unconsciousness or deception.

SOME of the best discoveries are made when you least expect them. That’s why they call them discoveries. Like, say, Frank Buck Jr.’s red knee pants. A lot has been said, written and read about the family that put Vacaville fruit on the map and built the 1891 manor on the Avenue.

Today, people across the globe celebrate Earth Day, an annual event in which organizers and supporters provide education and tools about how we can keep our planet healthy. This year’s theme is to end plastic pollution.

The month of April is designated as the month of the military child, a time to honor the sacrifices made by military families worldwide, with an emphasis on the experience of the dependent children of military members serving at home and overseas.

Some 10 years ago I told a nephew that mammoth U.S. social media companies, Facebook, Instagram, et al, “are not your friends,” and not to expect protection of personal information divulged upon signing up for their services.

A bigger-than-usual flock of faithful streamed into the Winters Express office two days ago for another Friday-the-13th potluck social. But Express ex-publisher Newt Wallace wasn’t on his perch by the front door, tending the guest book.

At a recent 20th Anniversary of the California Protective Parents Association (CPPA) and Spring Conference in Davis, whistleblower and Retired San Diego Family Court Judge DeAnn Salcido, held up a copy of April’s “O: The Oprah Magazine” issue and asked attendees, “What would you stand up for?” The question is in bold print on the magazine cover and is the title of a feature article.

While reviewing important papers in my archives, I came upon an envelope and a letter dating back 35 years, with information about animal research executed on primates and dogs. The announcement of “Mobilization for Animals” generated a flood of memories of fresh faces, ideals, commitments and the confidence that activists were on a mission to never back down.

The centuries-old debate between science and religion continues but many people have become aware that there is a third path to truth essential at this time. Scientists, relying on the empirical method, make a proposition first and then accept its truthfulness by carefully testing their proposed theory in the physical world to verify whether their statement is true or not.

THIS should put a smile on your face, especially if you’re into eating fresh and healthy. Sprouts Farmers Market, an organic and wellness-driven food chain, is on its way to opening in Vacaville this summer.

Many minority parents have become disappointed with public schools. Children of color across the nation still face racism from school systems, districts, administrators, and teachers. Some children, particularly in urban schools, are labeled remedial or ADD/ADHD, and they are often placed in special education.

Today ends the work week that was, when I thought I’d be writing about when and where I heard about the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 50 years ago (a slightly overcast day in Augsburg, Germany); or my profound disappointment with — and much-delayed reassessment of — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the de facto leader of Myanmar, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and about the deepening global trend toward autocrats and silence in the face of Rohingya genocide, respectively (I have lived in Turkey and visited Myanmar); or lapses among the highest management levels at Facebook, resulting in most of the social media company’s 2 billion users, under their business model, having their public profiles “mined” by outsiders, not just by Cambridge Analytica — all without their users’ explicit permission, sending the company’s stock value into a nosedive and raising questions about federal law, e-commerce and citizens’ constitutionally protected right to privacy in the Digital Age.

MANY people run for public office. A few, because of their family genes, community roots and proven skill sets, seem predestined to do the work. Vaca-ville Attorney John Coffer comes to mind. After 38 total years of criminal law as a deputy D.

Recently, we have witnessed quite a few tragedies in this nation, resulting in many families suffering grief and turmoil. We have people who continue to battle feelings of loneliness, painful memories, uncertainties and hopelessness.

THERE was the joy of victory, the agony of defeat and the political drama hanging over the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South—and in North—Korea. Linking it all through language again was Andrea Hofmann-Miller, the translator extraordinaire to whom Vacaville can lay claim.

YOUNTVILLE is a new coordinate on the map of shooting tragedies, a new reason for agonized people to reconvene to “make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Like searching for a cure for an incurable disease, it seems farther away with each tragic shooting.

Seeing high school students across the nation participate in the recent National School Walkout, reminded me of a mini one I took part in and the valuable lessons I learned. When I was a junior in high school, living in the South, African-American students staged a protest in the form of a walkout.

BREATHE: Choking on the world we have made doesn’t make that easy. Now comes a fresh breeze blowing through a colorful window on virtual Neverlands, where creeks always run clear, hawks soar through alabaster clouds and roses have no thorns.

“Inspirational, Educational, Life-changing and fun.” Each year nationwide the American Legion Auxiliary holds one of its most respected education programs of government instruction for US high school students.

IF any of the 800 crab crackers at the Vaca Firefighters Charity crustacean feed last night cracked one too many, they were surrounded by paramedics—the city has 38 total—and likely a few of the Four Horsemen who started the city paramedic program in 1977.

Ever since the Black Panther movie made its debut on February 16, I have read many comments and articles about people’s reactions to what they experienced on a personal level. So many themes, life’s lessons, and conclusions can be drawn from the film that so far, is breaking all kinds of records and poised to hit the billion-dollar mark.

After several years of observing and reading an advertisement, which solicited for older cars, boats, or RVs, in almost an anonymous fashion to do the “humane thing” as it was worded, my curiosity got the best of me because I wanted to know exactly what humane society this ad was referencing because it did not give its complete name.

“DO something, and do it now!” The words are strong, passionate, urgent. Sad and angry people are shouting them at statehouses, and our nation’s Capitol. Teens in groups of 17 lay in streets and parks in vivid protest under “Enough!” banners.

The Fairfield-Suisun, Vacaville, Dixon and Vallejo chambers of commerce hosted a Cannabis Information forum Thursday, at the Vacaville Opera House. The purpose of the forum was to educate primarily businesses on the federal and state cannabis policies, law enforcement, banking and business interests and taxes.

AFTER many summers of whining (yes, I did) and fantasizing about Main St. Farmers’ Market moving to the shade of the CreekWalk, it’s close to becoming a reality. Whining may have helped, but downtown Vaca bus.

We must now add Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School to the list of school shootings in the United States. Young people like David Hogg who survived the Florida massacre are pleading with adults to do more than convey thoughts and prayers.

ON the day Trump first favored a government shutdown if he didn’t get his way on an immigration plan—then pushed to put U.S. military on parade to show Putin and Un that his is fearsome— Tesla’s Elon Musk lit the candle on his 27-engine SpaceX rocket to the stars.

A week ago, I was listening to an online financial expert, Boyce Watkins, discussing the “Black Panther” superhero movie scheduled to hit theaters on Feb. 16. He rhetorically asked viewers, “How can black people benefit financially from the profits of the Black Panther movie?” Many in the entertainment industry have already said the film is expected to make up to $150 million this coming weekend, and more than likely surpass its $200 million budget within the coming weeks.

It is time to get your Irish on, and purchase your tickets for the American Legion Post 165 St. Patrick’s Day corn beef and cabbage dinner. Post 165 is bringing back their annual St. Patrick’s Day fundraiser dinner this year just in time for the wearn o’the green.

THERE’S a new game in town—on a Super Bowl level—that’s been 35 years in the making. Since the Rico Reporter, an army of tireless volunteers and I created Merriment on Main in 1983, it steadily grew into an event that all of Vacaville can now call its own.

President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress and the American people amid a deeply divided nation, the #MeTooMovement that included his indiscretions, the Russia investigation and other alleged conspiracies against his administration, and with the lowest approval rating of any president during the first year in office.

I am fairly confident that some people have noticed the satisfied smile a hunter expresses after killing a minding their own business wild animal. In some cases, the human predator may justify their violence against nature by claiming that arrangements with organizations have been made to feed those less fortunate with the flesh of the deceased animal.

Last week, I wrote about the connection between foster care and human trafficking and discussed a study, “Foster Care and Human Trafficking: a state-by-state evaluation.” I mentioned that this area rarely makes the headlines, even though the United States has increased its efforts to fight against human trafficking and developed policies to confront the issue.

Each January the Vanden High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) holds its annual awards night. This is a special night in which outstanding cadets are awarded national awards from area veterans and military organizations.

COLD and floods haven’t always hit someplace else. Longtimer Don Huffman came across a Jan. 8, 1973 Reporter that ran a page one story of a local snowfall (a life-stopping three inches!) under the jocular heading: “Vacaville makes Bid for Winter Olympics?” Seems I remember writing that.